Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Author Interview: A.H. Richardson on Murder in Little Shendon

Hello readers,today I welcome A.H. Richardson for an interview on Murder in Little Shendon to Fit & Beautiful Heart reads.Murder in Little Shendon is the first novel of the Hazlitt/Brandon series. A series of murder mystery novels that follows a pair of clever, colorful and charismatic sleuths - Sir Victor Hazlitt and Beresford Brandon.

1. Murder in Little Shendon is a thriller murder mystery where as your first ever novel was a children`s book. How did you come from writing books for children to writing a thriller?

I think I wanted to write a 'who-dun -it' long before I wrote the Jorie stories. Growing up in England, and raised in a fine boarding school, I read my first Agatha Christie when I was about ten ...and loved it, and thereafter read everything she ever wrote. I believe I dreamed at quite an early age about writing a murder mystery, and wondered how challenging it would be... and it is challenging by its very nature. I grew up the daughter of a famous father, Clive Richardson, a concert pianist and composer - my mother sang opera, so the theatre and art genes ran in my blood, it's safe to say! I grew up with a love since of dragons, magic and fantasy, and wrote the Jorie stories long before the mysteries. The murder mysteries, however, were always simmering in the back of my mind,and I did not write these until later - and it was always easy to separate them ... you just wear a different hat!

2. There are a lot of british TV shows running on international TVs now, such as Inspector Barnaby and Father Brown. When I first heared of Murder in Little Shendon I wondered if it might be like those shows and where you would see similarities and differences?

Nobody does a mystery quite like the British - in the same way that nobody did musicals like Hollywood, in the good old days… I know very well the British mysteries you refer to, and they are excellent. I always used to love 'Morse' remember him? - a very laid back slightly morose character. In a way you're quite right, Murder iLittle Shendon is not unlike these shows, and I would say that there are more similarities than differences, especially since Sir Victor Hazlitt and Beresford Brandon are the two sleuths who do all the investigations, and are great friends though vastly different from one another. They feature also in the other books.

3. How would you describe your main characters?

The two main characters the ones whose names I mentioned in the last question, are the two loveable sleuths. Sir Victor is a charming debonair quite wealthy retired diplomat who worked for MI5 and Scotland Yard. He is low-key, well-read, clever and cautious. His partner, Beresford Brandon (Berry) is a shortish, stout teddy-bear of a man, a fine Shakespearian actor, and the son of a famous detective. He is personable, funny, a mimic, great with people, and a romantic. They have become quite real for me, and sometimes I hear one or another of them talking to me... better not print that, or people will wonder... One's characters do talk to one, that is how a book gets written!

4. Did you thought of a specific place when coming up with the town of Little Shendon? If so where would I have to go to get a real life experience of Little Shendon?

There are all sorts of quaint tiny villages in Southern England especially with names like, Little Chipping, and there's one called Little Piddle... no, really there is. I used to visit a village called Little Cattcot, so I took up the 'Little' and added Shendon. You would have to travel to Dorset and Devon and Cornwall to find these places, many of them do a B and B, and are lovely to visit, but don't try to find Little Shendon, that is only in Angela's stories.

5. Could you imagine seeing Murder in Little Shendon on the big screen?

A resounding YES! Because of my drama training, and stage work, I absolutely see this as a film, and in some places in the book, I am told, it comes a cross as almost a screenplay.Thank you very much to A.H. Richardson for answering my questions.

About A.H. Richardson:

A.H. Richardson was born in London England and is the daughter of famous pianist and composer Clive Richardson. She studied drama and acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She was an actress, a musician, a painter and sculptor, and now an Author.

A.H. Richardson lives happily in East Tennessee, her adopted state, and has three sons, three grandchildren, and two pugs. She speaks four languages and loves to do voiceovers. She plans on writing many more books and hopes to delight her readers further with her British twist, which all her books have.

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